Culture Check

Every business or organization has a culture where an understanding of its vision and values meet the needs and rewards of its people.  This culture, formed and sustained by its leadership, plays a vital role in the success, or failure, of the enterprise.  Culture, once established, is difficult to change unless a company’s leadership is changed.  And this isn’t always for the better.

A company’s culture, like an individual’s reputation, is created and maintained through the actions, reactions, and decisions of its leadership over a period of time.  Employees take careful note of managerial actions and decision-making, and formulate opinions about the culture.  And, while some aspects of the culture can be quite direct and definitive, most are indirect and subliminal, and are therefore reflected in how people “feel” about the role they play and the organization they invest their “work life” into.

If you lead or manage a business or enterprise, take a moment to reflect on the culture you helped create and maintain.  Do associates identify with that culture or passively resist it?  Are changes necessary to improve morale or are people ready to jump out of the proverbial second story for you?  An honest and reflective assessment of your culture may be just what you need right now.

 
Jewelers Need Filters

Yes jewelers need filters. But what do I mean?

We need Google to find things – or even better yet, sophisticated filtering sites to locate what we specifically want to buy. We don’t go to Google to buy an airline ticket or a hotel room. We go to Travelocity or Expedia or Priceline or Hotwire. In other words, we go to a pre-determined site – let’s call it a mechanism – to get what we want.

In the same way, jewelers need a filtering mechanism to determine how well they are doing in business. Many jewelers are computerized today with an inventory management system that can produce reports to help run their business. But most jewelers don’t use their management system to best advantage. Often, they are so busy with sales, personnel, repairs, customer service, advertising, sourcing, etc. that they simply don’t have time to focus on what is most important in business. They need a reporting structure and a filtering system that tells them where they are going right and where they are going wrong.

Simply put, jewelers need to focus on managing their businesses in order to be profitable. This is where filters for the right information come in. If you aren’t using the information at your fingertips, (and still relying on your gut instincts), you are not running an efficient business. Get some help now, before you find yourself out of business.

 
Here are a few Business & Life Tips to think about…..

Business Tips:

• If you want to manage something, manage yourself. When you do that right, you’ll be ready to stop managing and start leading.
• What’s important trumps what’s urgent, but all too often we focus on unimportant, urgent matters that eat our time and attention.
• Afraid to speak to groups? You’re not alone. Besides dying, the #1 fear of Americans is public speaking. Try a Dale Carnegie class. It will help.

Life Tips:

• “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there,” – John Wooden
• If we slowed down just a tad, we would have time to better relate to people around us, and be able to smell the roses in the garden.
• Addicted to electronic gadgets? Do they control your life? Then it’s time to get a life. Turn them off once in a while.

Tags: Business Development, Business Tips, Crisis Management, Developing Leaders, happiness, Integrity, Knowledge, Leadership, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Life Tips, Management, People Leaders, Philosophy, Relationships, Reputation, Success, The Mind of a Leader, Values, Vision, Wisdom